Playyard



Oct. 13, 1959 F. F TON 2,908,021

PLAYYARD 4 Filed Dec. 26, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'l'I'I'L'l IIIJIIIIHTIHllllllllllll] lllllllllHllllllllllllllll I'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILIIIIl INVENTOR.

BY film.

6 ATTORNEY JAMES F. FULTON J. F. FULTON "Oct. 13, 1959 PLAYYARD 4 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Dec.- 26. 1957 INVENTOR. JAMES F: FULTON 4 TTURIVE Y Oct. 13, 1959 J. F. FULTON 2,908,021

PLAYYARD Filed Dec. 26, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ,46 7 5; w ""-3 F i I 45 3 E 45 I ,48 i

, Fla. 3. l3

INVENTOR. JAMES F. FULTON rranwsr J. F. FULTON Oct. 13, 1959 PLAYYARD 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 26, 1957 IIIII |llll'll|lllllllll llrlll I INVENTOR. JAMES F. FULTON 4 7' TORIVE Y use when the baby is put in the playyard again.

2,008,021 Patented Oct. 13, 1959 ice PLAYYARD James F. Fulton, Center Line, Mich., assignor to Trimble, Inc., Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application December 26, 1957, Serial No. 705,329

13 Claims. (Cl. -99) The present invention relates to playyards or playpens for babies, and more particularly to a foldable playyard or playpen.

The conventional babies playyard or playpen is made of wood and is slatted. It is heavy, awkward, and cumbersome to handle, and sometimes difficult to fold. The baby can easily push his or her toys through the slats in the yard, causing mother much stooping and bending to collect the toys again. Moreover, prior to folding the conventional playyard up, the toys as well as the pad, which is used to cover the floor of the playyard, when the playyard is in use, must be removed from the playyard, and stored somewhere where they are available for In the conventional playyard also the floor ordinarily warps out of shape because one part of the floor has to support the other part thereof.

One object ofthe present invention is to provide an improved babies playyard which will be light in weight while having the requisite strength, which will be easy to carry about and to transport, easy to handle, and which can quickly and readily be folded or unfolded.

Another object of the invention is to provide a playyard which can be folded or unfolded in one motion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a playyard which will be compact when folded and occupy a minimum of space.

Another object of the invention is to provide a playyard so constructed so that the babys toys and the floor pad can be folded intothe playyard itself, obviating any problem of storing them or of looking for them when the playyard is to be used again.

Another object of the invention is to provide a playyard so constructed that the baby cannot push toys out through the sides of the playyard.

A still further object'of the invention is to provide a playyard in which the floor will be self-supporting, and such that it will resist warping.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a playyard constructed according to one embodiment of this invention, with the playyard opened up in position for use;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the playyard partly folded;

Fig. 3 is an end view taken at right angles to Fig. 1, also showing the playyard in open position;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the opened playyard, with part of the floor pad broken away to show the floor itself, part of the sleeve, from which the flexible body of the playyard is suspended, being broken away also, to show part of one of the tubular frame members;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is. a fragmentary section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section taken generally on the line 77 of Fig. 1, showing the way in which the netting is attached to the upper frame of the playyard at its upper end, and how it is fastened to the floor at its lower end;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section on a somewhat enlarged scale taken on the line 88 of Fig. 4 looking in the direc-- tion of the arrows; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the playyard taken in a plane just above the floor, the covering pad being broken away to show how the flexible body of the playyard is secured to the floor.

The playyard shown in the drawings comprises an upper generally-rectangular shaped frame which is made in two parts, each part being in the form of a U-shaped tubular frame member. The ends of the two U-shaped frame members are in opposed relation and are close to one another. There is a supporting leg pivoted to each end of each U-shaped member. The playyard has a two-part floor. Each floor section is supported by a plurality of inverted channel members that are hingedly connected at their inner ends to the inner ends of the aligned channel members which support the other floor section. The axis of the hinged connection is parallel to the pivotal axes of the supporting legs of the playyard and moves in a vertical plane approximately midway between the points of pivotal connection of the two pairs of supporting legs with their respective frame members. The channel members for the respective floor sections are pivotally supported at their outer ends on bars which are rigidly secured to the two pairs of supporting legs. The body, or perimetric enclosure, for the playyard is flexible and is preferably made of knitted nylon net. It is suspended around the perimeter of the frame and is secured at its lower end around the perimeter of the floor. Its interstices are small enough to prevent the baby from pushing 'a toy through them, yet large enough to permit readily seeing through. To support the frame in open position, a folding brace is pivotally connected at its lower end to each supporting leg and is pivotally connected at its upper end to the associated frame member. The two floor sections are preferably made of different widths. The covering pad is preferably folded in its middle onto the wider floor section, when the playyard is to be folded. This will expose part of the wider floor section. A strap or handle is secured in the wider floor section to be exposed when the covering pad is folded. By grasping this and pulling up the whole playyard will fold, once the folding braces have been broken. Hence the legs, frame, floor, and body can be folded by the simple, single motion of pulling up on the strap in the floor. This strap serves also as a carrying strap or handle for the folded playyard. Due to the flexibility of the body, or perimetric enclosure, the toys and floor pad can be left in the playyard and folded in with the folded playyard.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference, the two U-shaped tubular frame members which together constitute the frame of the playyard are denoted at 10. These frame members are of equal size and are positioned in inverted relation to one another so that the ends of their legs are adjacent and so that their legs are in alignment and their ends confront one another when the playyard is in open position. These frame members are pivotally connected at their ends by means of pivot pins .11 to inverted U-shaped caps 12 and to a pair of supporting legs 14.

Each of the legs 14 is connected by means of a foldable brace or spreader 15 to one of the U-shaped tubular frame members 10. Each brace 15 is made in two parts 20 and 21 which are pivotally connected together by means of a pin 19. The part 20 of each brace is pivotally connected by means of the pin 16 and U-clip- 17 to the associated leg 14 intermediate the ends of the leg. The part 21 is pivotally connected by means of pin 18 to the associated U-shaped frame member 19 at a point spaced from one end of the frame member. The brace part 26 has a stop ledge 22 stamped thereon, which is adapted to engage against the surface 23 (Fig. 2) of the brace part 21, when the brace is in its extended position, to limit the movement of the brace part 21 on the brace part 29 and hold the brace in extended position. The brace part 21 has an L-shaped stop or look 24 slidably secured there on by means of a pin 25, which engages in the slot 26 in one leg of the lock 24. Each lock 24- is adapted to be engaged under the associated brace part 20, when the brace is extended, as shown in Fig. l, to support the brace in its extended position and prevent involuntary collapse of the playyard. The stops or locks 24 further serve to prevent a child from folding the playyard.

The opposed legs 14 of each pair of supporting legs are connected together adjacent their lower ends by an inverted U-shaped supporting bar 30 whose legs are riveted by means of rivets 31 (Figs. 1 and 3) to the opposed legs 14 at the insides thereof. Mounted on each of the rods 30 and longitudinally spaced from one another therealong is a plurality of inverted channel members. The channel members associated with one of the rods 30 are denoted at 32; and the channel members associated with the other rod 30 are denoted at 33. The channel members 32 and 33 are of equal length and are arranged in pairs. The two channel members of each pair butt against one another at their proximal ends and are hingedly connected at such proximal ends by means of hinge pins 34, the channel members 32 being formed with ears 34 (Fig. to straddle the channel members 33 at their proximal ends. The hinge pins 34 for the channel members lie and move in a vertical plane intermediate the pivots 11 for the legs 14.

The floor of the playyard is supported by the channel members 32 and 33. This floor is made in two pieces, one of which 35 (Fig. 4) is considerably wider than the other piece 36. The two sections of the floor are riveted to the channel members 32 and 33, respectively, by rivets 37. The diiference in width of the two floor sections 35 and 36 makes the line of break between these two sections offset from the hinge plane of the channel members.

To strengthen the floor, a wire truss rod 40 (Figs. 3 and l) is riveted at its opposite ends, by means of rivets 41 to each of the cross bars 30 beneath the same. To prevent sidewise movement of the rods 40 relative to their respective cross bars 30, there is a V-shaped clip riveted to each of the bars 30 approximately midway the length thereof; but one of the clips 42 is disposed at one side of the longitudinal center line of the playyard, and the other clip 42 associated with the other rod 40 is disposed at the opposite side of the longitudinal center line. This is to avoid interference with the channels 32 and 33 when the playyard is being folded.

The body or enclosing portion of the playyard is made of a flexible material, such as nylon netting, which is denoted at 45. This netting is shown only fragmentarily in the figures for clarity of illustration. The netting 45 extends all around the playyard inside the legs 14 thereof. It is suspended at its upper end from the U-shaped frame members by means of a fabric sleeve 46, to which it is sewed, or otherwise fastened. The sleeve 46 may be cut away adjacent the pivots 11 of the legs to permit ready folding. The sleeve may be made of plastic or any suitable fabric. At its lower end the netting 45 is sewed or otherwise secured to another sleeve 48, which covers a pair of U-shaped straps 49 (Figs. 7 and 9) that are disposed, similar to the U-shaped frame members 10, in inverted relation with their ends adjacent, and with their ends confronting one another and their legs in alignment when the playyard is open. The strap members 49 are fastened by means of rivets 50 to the respective floor sec- 4 tions 35 and 36. The legs of the U-shaped strap 49, which is attached to section35 of the floor, are somewhat shorter than the width of that floor section but the legs of the U-shaped strap 49, which is attached to the floor section 36, are somewhat longer that the width of the floor section 36 so that they underlie floor section 35 when the playyard is open, as shown in Fig. 9. However, this latter strap 49 is riveted only to floor section 36 so as to permit folding of the floor.

In use, the floor is covered by a foldable pad 55, which is made so as to fold along its middle.

Since the floor sections are of unequal width, and the floor section 35 is wider than the floor section 36, when the pad 55 is folded, it exposes part of the floor section 35. A carrying strap 56 is secured in the section 35 of the floor close enough to the free edge of that section to be exposed, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4-, when the pad 55 is folded. This strap may be made of plastic and inserted through holes 57 (Figs. 4 and 8) in the floor section 35, and may have its ends looped and heat-sealed to secure against the strap being pulled out of the floor section 35. When folded, the playyard can readily be carried by the strap 56. When extended, the playyard can readily be folded by folding braces 15 and then pulling up on the strap 56.

Assuming that the playyard is in the extended, operational position shown in Figs. 1. 3 and 4, to fold the playyard, the floor pad 55 is first folded in the middle over onto floor section 35. This exposes the carrying strap 56. The catches 24- of the braces 15 are slid back to permit the braces to fold. Then by lifting on the carrying strap 56 the whole playyard can be folded into collapsed position for easy transportation. In its collapsed position, the legs 14 at each side will be substantially contiguous, the U-shaped frame members 1t will be folded down alongside the legs, and the floor sections will be folded within the skirt or netting 45 and within the U-shaped frame members 19. The sleeves 46 and 48 will bend at their middle sufiiciently to permit this fold. The aluminum caps 12 eliminate dangers of the fingers being pinched in folding.

To open up the playyard to position for use, a person needs only to grasp the U-shaped frame members 10, and pivot them upwardly to horizontal position, and set the braces 15 by moving the catches 24 into brace-locking position. During the upward pivotal movement of the U-shaped frame members 10, the legs will pivot apart about their pivots 11; and the floor sections will pivot about the hinge pins 34 to horizontal position. The aluminum caps 12 limit the upward movement of the frame members 11) so that these frame members are horizontal when the playyard is open. After the playyard has been opened up, the pad 55 may be opened up. The playyard is ready for use by the baby.

The legs 14 are preferably tubular and preferably the tops of the tubes which constitute these legs are spun over, instead of being capped, to facilitate folding. The legs 14, caps 12, tubular frame members 10, bars 30, channel members 32 and 33, and straps 49 are all preferably made of aluminum to reduce the Weight to a minimum. As previously stated, the body or skirt 45 is preferably made of nylon netting for lightness, openness, flexibility and strength, but obviously may be made of other flexible materials also. The floor sections 35 and 36 are preferably made of pressed board, which is light in weight and low in cost. The supporting channel members 32 and 33 give the floor sections adequate support.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure ascome within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A folding playyard comprising a. foldable upper frame, two legs pivotally connected to said upper frame at each side thereof to support said upper frame when opened, the two legs at one side of the frame being aligned, respectively, with the two legs at the other side of the frame and aligned legs having a common pivotal axis, a pair of bars, each of which is rigidly connected at its opposite ends to two aligned legs and each of which extends parallel to said common axis, a floor, said floor comprising two sections, each of which is rigid, and a rigid supporting member secured to each floor section beneath the same, each of said supporting members being pivoted at its outer end to one of said bars for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said common axis, and said supporting members being hingedly connected together at their inner ends to hinge about an axis parallel to said common axis to fold said floor sections upwardly when said legs are moved toward one another.

2. A folding playyard as claimed in claim 1 wherein the two floor sections are of different widths, respectively, but in which the supporting members therefor are of equal length so that the line of separation of the two floor sections is spaced from the hinge axis of their supporting members when the playyard is open.

3. A folding playyard comprising two U-shaped frame members disposed to have their ends confronting, two legs pivotally connected at their upper ends to each of said frame members at the adjacent ends of said frame members, respectively, one leg at each side of each frame member, the two legs at the same side of the two frame members being aligned, respectively, with the two legs at the opposite side of the two frame members and pivoting about parallel axes, a bar extending in the direction of said axes rigidly connecting each pair of aligned legs near the lower ends of the legs, a floor comprising two sections, each of which is rigid, a rigid supporting member secured to each floor section beneath the same, each supporting member being pivoted at its outer end to one of said bars for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said axes, the two supporting members being hingedly connected together at their inner ends to pivot about an axis parallel to the pivotal axes of said legs to fold said floor sections when one pair of aligned legs is pivoted toward the other pair of aligned legs, and a flexible skirt enclosing the playyard and suspended at its upper end from said frame members and fastened at its lower end to said floor sections.

4. A folding playyard as claimed in claim 3 in which the hinge axis of said supporting members lies and moves in a vertical plane between the pivotal axes of said legs.

5. A folding playyard as claimed in claim 3 in which the floor sections are adapted to support a foldable pad, and in which the two floor sections have different widths, respectively, and in which a carrying strap is secured to the wider floor section to fold said floor sections and said legs about their respective pivotal axes when a person pulls said carrying strap upwardly.

6. A folding playyard as claimed in claim 3 in which there is a brace for supporting each frame member from at least one of the legs that is connected to that frame member, each brace being supported from its leg at a point between the associated frame member and the associated floor section, and each brace supporting its associated frame member at a point spaced from the point of pivotal connection of the associated leg with the associated frame member.

7. A folding playyard as claimed in claim 3 in which the confronting ends of the frame members pivot within cap members disposed at opposite sides of the frame members and in which the legs are pivotally connected to said cap members and to said frame members outside of these cap members, and each leg and the side of the frame member which is associated with that leg having a common pivot.

8. A folding playyard as claimed in claim 3 in which thetwo floor sections are of different widths, respectively, but in which the supporting members therefor are of equal length so that the line of separation of the two floor sections is spaced from the hinge axis of their supporting members when the playyard is open.

9. A folding playyard as claimed in claim 8 in which carrying means is provided on the portion of the wider floor section which is at the same side of the hinge axis of said supporting members as the narrower floor section, so that said playyard may be folded by grasping said carrying means and pulling upwardly.

10. A folding playyard comprising a pair of rigid, generally U-shaped frame members disposed with the ends of one member adjacent the ends of the other member, said frame members together constituting a folding top-bar for the playyard, two pairs of legs, the

two legs of each pair being disposed at opposite sides, respectively, of the folding top-bar and being pivotally connected at their upper ends thereto for pivotal movement about a common axis, a brace for connecting at least one leg of each pair with the adjacent side of one frame member at a point remote from the point of pivotal connection of said one leg and said one frame member to support said one frame member when the playyard is unfolded, thelegs at the same side of the folding top-bar pivoting toward one another in folding the playyard and pivoting away from one another in unfolding the playyard and diverging downwardly from one another from top to bottom when the playyard is' unfolded, a bar rigid with each pair of legs adjacent the lower ends of the legs and extending parallel to said common axis, a floor comprising two sections only, each of which is rigid, the two sections of the floor being pivotally mounted directly on said bars at mutually remote points for pivotal movement about axes parallel to said common axis, means pivotally connecting the two floor sections together at mutually closer points to pivot about an axis parallel to said common axis to fold upwardly upon folding of the playyard and to unfold when the pairs of legs are pivoted away from one another, means for supporting said floor sections in horizontal position when unfolded, and a flexible skirt connected at its upper end to said top bar around the perimeter thereof to depend therefrom and to constitute an enclosure for the playyard when the playyard is unfolded.

11. A playyard as claimed in claim 10 wherein said braces constitute the sole means for supporting the top bar from the legs when the playyard is unfolded, each frame member is foldable independently of the other frame member, and means is provided for fastening said skirt around said floor at its bottom.

12. A folding playyard comprising an approximately rectangular frame which is formed in two sections pivotally connected to fold upon one another, a pair of legs pivotally connected at their upper ends to said frame at each of two opposed sides of said frame, the two legs of each pair moving away from one another and diverging downwardly when the playyard is unfolded, and moving toward one another when the playyard is folded, the leg of each pair at one side of the frame being aligned with the corresponding leg of the other pair at the opposite side of the frame, a floor comprising two rigid sections, which are of different widths, respectively, and which are adapted to abut one another when the playyard is unfolded, a rigid supporting member secured to each floor section beneath the same, means pivotally connecting the two supporting members at their outer ends to aligned pairs of legs, respectively, adjacent the lower ends of the legs, and means hingedly connecting the supporting members to one another at their inner ends to fold said floor sections upwardly when the playyard is folded, said supporting members being of equal length so that when the playyard is unfolded the hinge axis of the supporting members is offset from the line of abutment of the fioor sections, and a flexible skirt enclosing the playyard and suspended at its upper end from said frame and fastened at its lower end to said floor.

13. A folding playyard comprising an approximately rectangular frame which constitutes a folding top-bar for the playyard and which is formed in two sections pivotally connected to fold to be parallel to one another, two pairs of legs, the two legs of each pair being disposed at opposite sides, respectively, of the folding top bar and being pivotally connected at their upper ends thereto for pivotal movement about a common axis, the legs at the same side of the folding top bar pivoting toward one another in folding the playyard and pivoting away from one another in unfolding the playyard and diverging downwardly from one another from top to bottom when the playyard is unfolded, a brace for connecting at least one leg of each pair with the adjacent side of the associated section of the top bar at a point remote from the point of pivotal connection of said one leg and said associated section, when the playyard is unfolded, thereby to support said associated section in its unfolded position, said braces constituting the sole means for supporting the top bar when the playyard is unfolded, each section of the top bar being foldable independently of the other section, a floor comprising two sections only, each of which is rigid, a bar rigid with each pair of legs adjacent the lower ends of the legs and extending parallel to said common axis, means hingedly connecting the two floor sections adjacent their mutually remote ends, respectively, with said bars, respectively, for pivotal movement about axes parallel to said common axis, each of said bars being disposed so that its associated floor section rests directly thereon, means hingedly connecting the two floor sections together at their adjacent ends for pivotal movement about an axis also parallel to said common axis to fold upwardly upon folding of the playyard and to unfold when the pairs of legs are pivoted away from one another, means for holding said fioor sections horizontal when unfolded, and a flexible foraminate skirt connected at its upper end to said top bar around the perimeter thereof to depend therefrom and attached at its bottom around the perimeter of said floor to constitute an enclosure for said playyard when the playyard is unfolded.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 520,699 Neal May 29, 1894 609,520 De Von Aug. 23, 1898 1,347,447 Eberl July 20, 1920 1,429,335 Gabriel Sept. 19, 1922 2,173,639 Swanson Sept. 19, 1939 2,498,203 Fischer Feb. 21, 1950 2,710,976 Martensen June 21, 1955 2,783,053 Sheldrick Feb. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,332 Great Britain of 1883 19,252 Great Britain of 1892 182,631 Great Britain July 13, 1922 640,023 France Mar. 19, 1928 958,555 France Sept. 12, 1949 

